What had he wanted so desperately that he clung to it even in the process of becoming a Grid?

Jhin bit down on his lower lip and started toward the church—the scene of the incident.

But then, something unexpected happened.

There were voices inside.

A low hum of murmuring and whispering.

"…Wasn't this area supposed to be restricted?"

"Yes. We closed it off due to the floating spore virus particles in the air."

"Let's head in anyway."

They entered the church quietly.

Blending into the murmuring crowd, they stepped through without drawing attention—until they reached the front and saw a man preaching from the pulpit.

He shouted with such intensity, it looked like he might cough up blood at any moment.

"All of this happened because your faith was weak!"

He wore a white priest's robe, holding a square-shaped book—on its cover, an all-too-familiar emblem:

A lightning bolt piercing through two moons.

The mark of the Company.

Jhin recognized the man instantly.

There he was—the one responsible for all this.

Now standing before the townspeople, spewing sermons with a straight face.

"The monster here—yes, even he denied our grand Marguerite! Arrogant! Blasphemous! That's why he was punished! You see? This is the proof!"

A screen in the church flared to life.

A man twisted in pain, unconscious but changing rapidly.

His limbs stretched grotesquely as his form contorted—his arms extending unnaturally.

He was becoming a Grid.

A person mid-transformation.

"You must believe. Listen to me! Before you, too, become ignorant creatures… monsters!"

And just then, Jhin noticed something strange—

A subtle pulse of power, synchronized with the cadence of the man's voice.

This wasn't just a sermon.

[Player 'Bruce' has activated skill: 'Agitation (F)']

A system message blinked before his eyes.

He wasn't just preaching—he was actively using a skill to influence the crowd.

And it was working.

The residents were nodding along, their eyes dull and distant.

"Detective, that bastard…"

"Yes, I see. We have to stop him."

The skill Agitation wasn't usually dangerous on its own.

There was no direct counter, but its effectiveness depended heavily on the caster's level.

An F-rank version wouldn't fool any average player.

In fact, most players could easily recognize the activation message and dismiss the effect.

But the residents of District 3 weren't players.

They had no defense—no immunity to the skill.

They were completely exposed.

"I'll now show you the proof of faith."

A man, pale as death and trembling violently, was wheeled onto the stage.

His face was flushed, his nails blackened.

A clear Dungeon Disease—Stage 1 patient.

"This is Marguerite's blessing."

Bruce poured something into the man's mouth—slowly, deliberately.

As the liquid seeped in, a dazzling glow shimmered from within his body.

The effect was sickeningly holy looking.

Soon, color returned to the man's face.

The trembling ceased.

His eyes opened, weak but conscious.

"Where… am I…?"

"You are awake, brother."

"O-oh, priest…"

"Your faith has saved you. Congratulations."

"D-does this mean… I'm cured?"

"Yes."

The man let out a jubilant cry, overwhelmed with emotion.

And with that, the congregation began to stir.

"He looks fine. Could it be real?"

"Does that mean… if we drink that, we won't get infected?"

"Will they give it to us too?"

"…No way. It's probably only for players again."

Even so, none of them could tear their eyes away from the potion.

It glowed like salvation—

A miracle that could pull them out of this living nightmare.

Exactly what the Company wanted.

'…They're wavering.'

These people weren't naive.

They lived in modern times.

They understood that this was no longer just a "game."

They knew what players were.

They knew how this world worked now.

They could see it—clearly—that this was all the effect of some item.

A trick. A show.

And yet… they wavered.

Because they were powerless.

Because they were unregistered.

Because they were helpless.

"Believe! Marguerite offers blessings to all who accept her! You, too, shall be healed in her grace!"

The message was clear:

Believe in Marguerite, and you will be given the cure.

The potion that could stave off the disease.

And suddenly—

The whole setup reminded Jhinof something else.

The Runaway Ghost Train.

In that dungeon, merchants posed as saviors offering food to the hungry.

They tricked victims into signing cursed contracts, disguising it as charity.

This was eerily similar.

It was the same twisted pattern.

Like the one Shin Woohyun had experienced when he became a kobold.

Chillingly consistent.

Unforgivably familiar.

"Just a few days ago—you all remember! When the Lizardmen invaded Ark… What did the city do? They locked their gates! That's right—they abandoned us!!"

Now he was dragging out recent trauma to fan the flames.

It wasn't worth listening to anymore.

Jhin locked eyes with Caleb.

This pitiful little performance—

It ended now.

"I say to you, believe in Marguer—"

But just then—

"…We've got a rat."

Bruce's eyes flicked toward Caleb.

Several robed figures turned to approach him with threatening glares.

"How dare you interrupt a sacred ritual? Blasphemy!"

A dark shadow darted out from the rear of the church—

Something black and hunched, moving at terrifying speed toward Caleb.

But Jhin moved first.

CHANG!!

A sharp metallic ring echoed as Jhin intercepted the thing mid-strike.

The creature was flung back.

He held his position, gauntlet raised—his stance sharp, his expression colder than ice.

He looked closer at the attacker.

Long, clawed fingers.

Charred-black, scorched flesh.

A twisted, burned human form.

Then the system identified it.

'…Demon.'

Another way for humans to become monsters, aside from Grid.

By consuming human flesh—they crossed the boundary.

"No mercy for those who defy Marguerite! Bring divine judgment! Smite the heretic!"

The robed figures around Bruce began chanting, casting again.

The ritual had shifted.

The fight had begun.

The incantation was shouted all at once for the demon.

Fwoooong!

Black Power swirled around like a vortex, and the demon's body began to swell, like a balloon being inflated.

'A reinforcement buff…!'

Jhin narrowed his brow and said,

"Detective Caleb. For now, it's best to evacuate the civilians."

"Understood."

Without another word, Jhin took his stance and began grappling with the charging demon.

The demon mainly attacked using its sharply extended claws.

Svv - ich! Svich!

Like the Grid, it was a pure offense-type attacker that ignored defense.

It had no rationality.

As a monster, it seemed to have lost all intelligence.

[Activating exclusive skill of equipment 'Scarecrow's Thorn Gauntlet': 'Thorns']

With the Master of chaos sword broken, the only thing that could clash against its claws were the thorns pulled out from the back of his hand.

Fortunately, the demon's attack power wasn't particularly strong, so that alone was enough to block it.

It wasn't fast, either.

In fact, compared to Jhin, it was weaker in every way, slower, and even with the Company's reinforcement buff, it didn't carry any real pressure.

Not to mention the base level gap—

The demon simply wasn't a very powerful monster to begin with.

'The problem is the demon's trait.'

Demon.

A being that, unable to withstand hunger, killed its own kind and consumed human flesh, becoming something non-human.

Just as its birth was grotesque, it had a trait that ensured it could never end in a happy ending.

'They explode if you slip up.'

That's why in Exodia, demons were often jokingly referred to as "sunfish."

Fight and get excited? Boom.

Touch them wrong? Boom.

Kill them? Boom.

They always ended in an explosion.

These weren't powerful monsters that posed a threat to players—

But if their target was NPCs or civilians with no means of defense, it was a different story.

For the residents of District 3…

They would have no choice but to get caught in the blast and die.

'…This is going to be a pain.'

Jhin could still see the residents of District 3 filling the inside of the church.

As if entranced, they continued watching the battle.

Perhaps it was due to the lingering effect of the skill Agitation.

They were unknowingly in a trance-like state, and even watching a fight with a demon unfold in front of them didn't prompt them to run.

"Everyone, get out of the church! It's dangerous!"

"This way! Hurry!"

Caleb and Evan tried their best, but their efforts ended up being hollow echoes that never returned.

Even when Caleb took down a Company figure and grabbed the mic to shout, it was useless.

"Everyone, I said get out!!"

Instead, the civilians timidly approached the Company personnel and asked,

"If… if we believe in Marguerite, will we also receive that medicine?"

"Of course."

"E-even if we're not players?"

"Marguerite is merciful to all."

"Th-then…!"

The people of District 3 bowed their heads one after another toward the Company.

To them, Jhin, who was fighting the demon, wasn't even visible.

It was the result of Agitation taking effect too strongly.

'They're that desperate.'

Why were they so easily swayed?

Just because they were powerless?

Jhin deflected the demon's attack and calmly observed the people of District 3.

Their complexions, their conditions, their symptoms—

All signs pointed clearly to one thing:

They were all typical Stage 1 Dungeon Disease patients.

Jhin furrowed his brow.

'Damn it, these Company bastards.'

When is it that humans break the easiest?

When the world suddenly becomes a game?

When a monster bares its teeth right in front of you?

When you're infected with a disease that turns you into a monster?

None of those were the right answer.

'It's when you have absolutely nothing to lean on.'

That was the exact state of the people in District 3 right now.

Like buoys adrift, pushed around by the tides of the situation.

'They don't trust Ark anymore.'

No, they can't.

Because of all the things Ark has done so far.

'I wouldn't trust it either.'

Jhin recalled the minor incident back at New Capital Hospital.

The moment a single player threw a tantrum, the treatment queue had been massively delayed.

What would've happened if he or Bellatris hadn't shown up then?

'Ark puts too much priority on the powerful.'

It had been the same during the lockdown.

No matter how much the people of District 3 cried out to be saved, no one opened the gates.

If Jhin hadn't intervened then, the survivors would probably have all been wiped out.

Privileged players versus neglected non-combatants.

The Company had struck right at that subtle rift.

Even this pathetic propaganda was enough to sway people—because the rift had grown that deep.

"Believe! Marguerite's blessing is open to all!"

Jhin, hearing that nauseating Company slogan, couldn't help but put a little more strength into his strike.

The demon bounced back, its skin gradually turning red.

A sign of imminent explosion.

'Damn it… why are they even carrying something like that around?'

Once again: the people of District 3 had no way to protect themselves from an explosion.

Even if the demon was just a lowly level-10 monster, it would be a fatal threat to these civilians.

Jhin quickly ran through his thoughts.

'Best-case: I hold the demon here while they evacuate.'

But that wasn't even a plan anymore.

The people of District 3 showed no sign of moving.

He needed another way.

'Go with Plan B.'

Jhin steadied his breathing and widened his eyes.

The charging demon's movements appeared slower.

Plan B.